


Tony Stark: The Missing Interview

by ladydragon543



Series: Feelings [2]
Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: F/M, Feels, Fury will not be pleased, I REGRET NOTHING, I accidentally a fic, Interviews, Interviews are his thing, Time Magazine, Tony is a press magnet, spoilers for the movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-29
Updated: 2012-05-29
Packaged: 2017-11-06 05:18:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/415130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladydragon543/pseuds/ladydragon543
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony decides to give Time Magazine a full interview after the invasion.</p><p>"You do realize Fury won't let you publish any of this, right?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tony Stark: The Missing Interview

**Author's Note:**

> SO! This is technically part of the Feelings verse, but it happens before everything. Naturally.
> 
> Wrote this right after I saw the movie. I couldn't help it. Consider it my reaction to the Council and their collective stupid.

_**The following is a deleted question and answer excerpt from an interview Tony Stark had with Time magazine, only a week after the invasion of New York City.  
February 2012--Tony Stark, The Lost Time Magazine Interview** _

**Time Magazine: How do you deal with saving the world?**

God, you people, always asking the hard questions. No, no, I’ll answer. It’s fine. I mean, why not? 

Don’t ask me, cause I sure as hell don’t know. I’m zero for three on nearly dying now, a big damn hero in a world that apparently needs big damn hero’s. The world is safe, and now that it is, people are once again calling for my head. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. Seriously, it's been just over a week, and already our little ragtag group is being called everything from saviors to outlaws. 

_[Stark pauses here, his mouth is in a thin line. His knee has started to bounce--this interviewer is sure that if he wasn’t so good at this, Stark would be pacing. The energy is just radiating off him in waves. Eyes hard, he runs a hand through his hair before continuing. His tone is bitter.]_

Because apparently it's our fault that some power hungry demi-god decided to take out his issues with his daddy and brother out on Earth. By opening a giant gaping portal and bringing in hells own damn minions--with fucking giant sea monsters to boot. Yeah, totally our fault. 

_[Stark rolls his eyes, a thin smile on his face]_

A little gratitude is too much to ask apparently, right? We only stopped Loki--that‘s the power hungry demi-god, got the Tesseract--the thingy he was using to open the portal-- back where it belongs and out of our hands. But hey, who cares? Sorry, next time we won't bother. How's that?

**Well…New York City is destroyed. People want to know who to blame.**

Yeah, of course it is. I mean, hard not to be when you’ve had an alien army flying all over the damn place. Jesus. Did you guys not notice that? Bunch of big ugly guys dressed in fugly metal, had a bunch of ridiculous fucking energy weapons? Any of that ring a bell? Of course the city is in ruins! Want to blame someone? Blame Loki. Trust me, he’s getting his just desserts back in his own home. Where he belongs.

**Alright. How do you--all of the Avengers-- feel about all this?**

Didn’t we just have this conversation? I don’t know. I mean really…

_[Stark shrugs and falls silent, staring off into space, before he seems to come back to himself.]_

It’s hard to believe that we managed to take on such a vast army. And win. I mean, yay we won but…

Look, I won't lie. There were casualties. Something like this, there are always casualties, and I think we paid a pretty hefty price. It's not as bad as it could have been, I grant you, but still, we paid a really heavy price for this victory.  
Phil Coulson, for one. And countless other S.H.I.E.L.D agents. Thousands of unlucky civilians that were literally just going about their business.  
As for the others…I couldn’t begin to tell you what they feel. I won’t speak for them.

**Fair enough. So, you said Loki was going to get his ‘Just desserts’ in his own home. How can you be so sure of that? What’s to say he won’t return at any moment, free and ready to attack again?**

You don’t pull your punches, do you? What the hell are you doing working as a lackey at Time--no, don’t tell me. Experience. Sorry, Time's a good magazine, but man you are just wasted on them. Want a job? I could use someone like you. Stubborn, bull headed, nosy as fuck.

**Thank you, but I'm quite happy where I am. Are you going to answer my question?**

I’ll answer I guess.

It's true that we all decided that Loki had to go back to his own place. Really it is. I know that already people are calling for the Avengers to be disbanded because of it, for me to hand over the suit, for Thor to bring back Loki to face justice here as a war criminal. 

But let me just ask you this: Do you really honestly think that anything we have here on earth will be enough to hold a demi-god? Like anything we have here is going to be punishment for him. Get real. Even my tech can’t stand up to him. Loki is strong, and even worse he’s clever. Trust me--it's for the best.

**But who are you--any of you-- to decide that?**

We're the guys who went up against him, saw first hand what he’s capable of, what the tesseract is capable of. The people who are the reason that the rest of the world isn’t a mess like New York City is. That’s who.

**Speaking of the City, what do you think about calls for the Avenger’s to help fund the rebuilding?**

Well me personally-- I actually have no problem with it. In fact I’ve signed so many checks that Pepper is starting to get worried. She shouldn’t though, my bank account can take it. I even started a fund for the families of the fallen. 9/11 all over again right, except this time they won’t fall by the wayside. Jarvis has a list of the families, and every month they’re going to be getting money to help out. Its not enough--never enough--but it’s a start.

**Wow, that’s impressive. And the rest of the Avengers?**

 

Huh, really? Look, I’m the only genius billionaire playboy philanthropist that the Avengers have got, okay? The rest of the Avengers--and the agency they run out of--they’re pretty much just government agents. Their budgets aren’t high enough. Trust me. Just pay your taxes, and I’ll pay as much as I can, and the rest of them can just be left alone, alright?

**Fair enough I suppose. So. How are you all coping?**

Coping? Uh, by running away.

_[Stark laughs, but it’s a bitter laugh.]_

No, well, not running away. I’ll be serious here.

We’re pretty scattered right now. Which is good, we all deserve some down time, I think.

Barton--that's Hawkeye-- and Romanov--that'd be Black Widow-- were gone as soon as Thor took Loki and the cube thingy back to Asgard. A wave and a smile, and bam, gone. One day I have got to have Natasha teach me that trick cause I bet it’d come in handy in the future. Maybe to slip out on board meetings.

Banner decided he wanted to see my ten floors of research labs--and oh man is that a match made in heaven or what? Bruce Banner and Tony Stark, working together--its brilliant. I love it. He pretty much lives here now. And it's good, it's great, it's perfection. Pepper seems to think we’re adorable together and hey, anything that makes Pepper laugh right now--that's a good thing in my book.

**Why is that?**

_[Stark falls silent, pensive. His brow furrows]_

Phil’s death hit her hard. Telling her was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. And she didn’t cry, she didn’t react like I expected. She just…got this haunted look in her eyes, gave me a kiss on the cheek, and locked herself away for a couple days.

**Understandable. And Captain America?**

No idea where the Capsicle is. Probably off enjoying the world now that we’ve saved it.

 _[Stark pauses, and nods.]_ Yeah, sounds about right.

**Good for him.**

Yeah, guess he's not such a bad guy after all. I guess I can see why dad would want to spend a fortune looking for his ridiculously chiseled ass. Too bad he never found him. But things happened as they should have, right? If you believe in that destiny and fate claptrap.

**So that leaves only you, then.**

Me? Oh, the coping thing. Hey, we all know what I do when the going gets tough right? I mean its in my blood, isn’t it? Dear ol’ dad certainly knew how to cope and before he died I’d already learned it at his knee.  
Pretty sure I earned the right to get stinking drunk after everything was over. Hell, we all did. Alcohol may not cure all ills, but it sure as hell helps. And if it keeps the nightmares mostly under control, then down the fucking hatch and pass me the next bottle.

 _[Stark pauses]_ You realize there’s no way in hell that Fury’s gonna let you publish this entire thing. 

**If you mean Director Nick Fury, I know. Still gonna answer?**

Why the hell not. No one will see this bit but us, I think. Sure.  
Really, it’s hell. Saving the world is a big fucking responsibility, ok, and I don’t play well with others normally. Common knowledge. So having all this--clean up, aftermath to deal with. It’s a lot.  
I mean, yeah, saved the world but…I dunno. That's weird right? I mean, between that and Pepper’s support, you’d think I’d be doing ok, right? Well, as ok as I get. That it should be enough.

We’re alive and kicking, but every time I look at her I know that she knows that I know it won’t be enough. Because everything’s changed.

...I think that made more sense in my head, but there you are.

_[Another pause, Stark licks his lips, before runing a hand roughly through his hair. He looks defeated.]_

It was one thing when I was just helping out the military, doing my own thing with the suit. I mean really, how can anyone in a cave hope to beat me when I’m constantly five steps ahead of the competition technologically? Besides Whiplash. But that was a special circumstance.

But this? This has changed the game, I can see it in her eyes. In how she very pointedly doesn’t say certain things. In how every time she sees me in the suit, or working on it, the worry lines around her eyes become more prominent and her mouth hardens into a thin line before she shakes it off and puts on her ‘everything is going to be alright’ face.

Thank god we’re both creatures of habit, that we’ve dealt with things by not speaking of them for years now. Because since neither of us are willing to have that conversation just yet. That we’re both content to try and make it work. Which means we throw ourselves into being as happy and normal as we can.

**And how’s that?**

Banner and I play at being mad scientists, Pepper has thrown herself headfirst into redesigning Stark Tower. Which will probably not be Stark Tower anymore, once she’s finished with it. Can’t say I’m too cut up about that. Not at all. In fact, if Fury doesn’t have a shit fit, I know exactly what I want to do with it. Pepper seems to think it’s a great idea, and hey, Banner is already on board, and so onward with the renovations.  
Besides, Avengers Tower just sounds really fucking cool, don’t you think? And it will serve as a reminder.

That this city is protected. That we watch, we wait, and if it comes down to it, we will fight for the world.  
That we’ve done it before against nearly impossible odds--and we won.

**Yeah, that’s one hell of a message.**

Yeah...

_[Stark seems lost in thought, staring off into the distance before realizing he isn't alone.]_

Right cool, so we done here? I have to--there’s a thing. Right, we’re done here. Sorry about the giant editing job that’s coming your way. 

**_True to form, shortly after this interview S.H.I.E.L.D confiscated all notes and materials in relation to this interview and released a heavily edited and approved public copy.  
The full interview didn’t surface until nearly thirty years later._ **


End file.
